It's been two years since you made us parents. Two years. How quickly it went by. It's true what they say, the years are short but the days sure are long.

You're growing quickly and as I reminisce and look at photos of you as a baby I realise just how much you've changed these couple of years. You're a toddler now, officially. In between being a baby and a child.

Someday I'd remember these days as days of transitions and in betweens. In between needing me and wanting your independence. In between talking so much and needing me for your words to be understood by others. I am your handy dandy interpreter. I can understand your whims, your shrieks and sometimes you'd just look at me and I know exactly what you want. You're at the phase where you're wanting to see and explore the world with one of your hands carefully holding mine. You're observing and then testing limits and moving forward while throwing glances down my way. You need me and then you don't. You want to walk on your own and sometimes, you'd rather be carried around. Yes, child, that was a good 7 blocks you asked Mum to carry you from church to the shops.

I love that you still need me and rely on me. I enjoy being able to be there to do things with and for you. I love that I'm the first person you go to when you're tired, cranky or upset. That you feel safe with me and comfortable to be your self. But there are days I wish you wouldn't too much though. When sometimes I'd prefer to go to the toilet alone and without curious eyes following me. When sometimes I wish I could just be given a few minutes of quiet. When I could just please finish my coffee in peace.

But a part of me wants to enjoy this phase while it lasts. Because I know too well that this won't last forever.

You're starting to lose your chunkiness and your oh-so-addicting baby smell. Your babbles and baby talk are starting to sound like real words. Your climbing and running and exploring more and more. You have become more and more expressive on what you want and need. The alphabet, numbers and nursery rhymes are now something you could effortlessly recite and sing.

You are slowly becoming your own person now, too. Bits and pieces of your personality is being revealed everyday and it amazes me so much how you're your own person now with your own interests and quirks. You're carefree and chill, inhibited and bit shy. You remind me of myself in some ways - how you'd take a while to warm up to other people and kids, and that you'd just love to quietly sit and stand in the corner on your own and play - wanting to be in the background yet carefully observing and participating in what's going on. Your contagious, infections laugh... it's so genuine and real. Oh how you love to laugh. You're the jokester, finding humour in the simple funny things. Like that drawer that keeps on opening no matter how many times we close it. Boy, that cracked you up. You love building things and disassembling them which is a challenge for a semi-OC mum like me - this certainly taught me to relax a bit and let you be a kid. That mess is OK. Well at least sometimes.

Having you is a blessing - it reminds me of grace and love. You're definitely teaching me a thing or two as I watch you grow. And definitely, watching you grow and you're child-like awe at things and the world make me stop and pause too. Sometimes, I get so lost in the things that I have to do everyday that I forget to stop and enjoy - you certainly remind me to do just that. I need to stop and pause more often, you're growing fast right in front of my eyes. You remind me to be thankful always. Like how you automatically say thanks when there's food in front of you. Or how you tried to climb the bookshelf because you wanted me to read your bible.

It's a time of just you and me. Days at playgroup. At the park. At the library. At church. One day I have to give way for the inevitable - for school, for friends. As part of life, this will happen eventually.

But can we linger a bit more? I'm not ready for all of this to end yet.

Happy birthday, buddy. It's been a grace-filled couple of years. Know you are something your dad and I are thankful for each and every day.

As you can see, we've been busy during summer. With the folks coming over to visit, we were up and about for almost everyday for the first two weeks during the Christmas break.

Another first is a visit to the Buxton Trout and Salmon Farm to try our hands at fishing. J and I have experienced fishing in Cebu a long time ago with friends so this was not entirely a new thing for me. I decided to sit this one out and watch from the sidelines as it was very hot and it took ages for fish to bite. The folks and family had fun and enjoyed their experience, though, and that's all that matters. Of course, little ones had a blast running around in the grass. This isn't always a good thing since my little man is starting to be a fearless, curious explorer who might just jump into the water if you're not looking. Oh sometimes I miss the infant days when you can just leave him in one corner and know he'd be there when you come back! :))

After 4 hours, everybody else finally managed to catch at least one fish. Happy with that, we decided to call it a day and started planning salmon and trout meals. :))

Buxton Trout and Salmon Farm is almost couple of hours from Melbourne. They have a shelter with picnic tables and barbecue facilities on-site. The trip going there was less enjoyable for me, as the road was mainly filled with sharp turns, which caused motion sickness. If you're planning to go, generally I'd say it's a good experience especially if you're looking for something new. But just be warned about the road. :)

What is a holiday without some much needed and deserved R&R? The sis made it a point that we go to the Peninsula Hot Springs for us to try it out and we happily complied.

We arrived early as the hilltop pool is off-limits to children from 10AM onwards. This makes sense since the hot springs tend to be busier with bathers during that time period. Since we had a couple of kiddos with us, we made sure to hit the hilltop pools first. Little ones were warming up to the idea (see what I did there?) and were splashing gleefully in no time.

After a couple of hours trying out the different baths, sauna and pools, we were ready to call ourselves refreshed and energised from the experience. Surrounded by nature, it was a welcomed treat especially to this tired mum. :) The kiddos had different plans though - if it were up to them, they would've stayed there for the day.

What I love about being in Australia is having lots of free places to see and explore. Parks and attractions are well-maintained and there are lots of opportunities to go and enjoy nature.

Mama especially enjoys flowers and gardens, being a green thumb herself so it was just apt to bring her to the State Rose Garden. Roses of every colour and sizes were in full bloom and one just couldn't help but stare at the beautiful colours and well-kept gardens. Of course, the little ones only found it as an opportunity to run around the walk paths and gazebo.

The Werribee Mansion is reminiscent of the Victorian era and architecture and is definitely a sight to behold and admire in this age and time.

The Frankson Sand Sculptures is an annual event where tonnes and tonnes of sand are used to build ah-mazing sculptures in Frankston. It runs in summer and in the warmer months. This year's event opened early and we lucky that it was already open and Frankston's along the way from Mornington to Melbourne.

This year's theme is "Land of Imagination" where true-to-life fairytales and story characters are brought to life as sculptors weave their magic on the sand at the Frankston Waterfront.

Castles, gnomes, witches, dwarves and elves, princesses, giants, knights, and even Humpty Dumpty are brought to life in the sand. There were also scenes from Alice in Wonderland - ah, who could forget that cheshire cat and down the rabbit hole?

There was an activity centre for kids and a sandpit and cubbies for fun in the sand for the little explorers. Photos for the adults, play for the kids. I'd call this a win-win!

Overall, I loved going around and admiring the exhibits. It was realistic, intricate and very detailed. It was a short stop for us so I don't recommend planning to be there the entire day but as a stop.

Eating out with a scenic backdrop has been my thing lately. Don't blame me - we rarely go out so when we do I try to make sure the food's good and the view's great. The view is a plus but we definitely hit the mark when we dined at T'Gallant! T'Gallant is a winery/restaurant famous for their pizza in Mornington.

We tried the lasagna, Con Salami and Margherita. The pizzas hit the spot and were winners in our books, while the lasagna tasted a bit soggy for our liking.

The Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm is a famous name when it comes to strawberry picking and since it was just a few meters away from T'Gallant, we decided to make a stop for the family to experience strawberry picking. It was sweltering hot so J and I decided to sit it out at the cafe and since we had done our share of strawberry picking a few weeks back at Bacchus Marsh. The shop sells a variety of goodies from fresh strawberries, jam, chocolates, ice cream, lollies and candies to alcohol and we managed to try whatever fruit-infused cider was available at the moment. We loved the cider and grabbed a few to go.